Christopher G. Hunter

Christopher G. Hunter

Christopher "Chris" Hunter, 54, passed away on May 14, 2026, at Albany Medical Center after a sudden and courageous battle with cancer. Chris was born on March 22, 1972, in Albany, NY to George T. and Margaret L. Hunter.

Chris is survived by his wife of two years Claudia, stepdaughter Fernanda, mother Margaret, brothers Michael Hunter and Joseph (Cassie) Hunter, niece Savannah and nephew Noah. He was predeceased by his father George.

Chris met his loving wife Claudia in 2023, and they were married on April 20, 2024, at the Albany Institute of Art, following their love for museums and art. Chris’ resided on Saratoga Lake where he and his wife enjoyed many walks to the lake. Chris and Claudia enjoyed traveling and have visited too many museums and botanical gardens to list. They developed a love for beaches, especially their visits to Clearwater Beach in Florida.

Chris’ love of travel, amusement parks, and movies extended to his niece and nephew. Traveling with them to Disney World, Disneyland, Universal Hollywood, Universal Orlando, and many other amusement parks. He was caringly referred to as Savannah’s “roller coaster buddy” as he would never shy away from hopping on a roller coaster. Noah fondly recalled his trips to California with his uncle as well as the many Star Wars and Marvel movies they saw together in theaters. And, no one could forget the many trips to historic parks such as Saratoga Battlefield, Gettysburg, Antietam, Chancellorsville, and many others where Chris was always the family tour guide and could easily recite facts while never having to turn to a guidebook.

Chris graduated from Linton High School in 1990 and received his bachelor’s degree from SUNY Brockport in 1994. He was awarded a full scholarship and in one year completed a master’s in finance, with honors, from Syracuse University in 1995. Chris later decided to follow his passion for history and science and went on to receive his master’s in history from the University at Albany in 2000. While finishing his master’s he did extensive research on a civil war company from Schenectady, the 44th New York. This led to Chris being recognized for his contributions he provided for several authors who sought out his knowledge of the Civil War.

While Chris could have done anything with his degrees and knowledge, he furthered his passion for history and science when he volunteered at the then Schenectady Museum in 1998. Chris’ love for the Museum of Innovation and Science (miSci), formerly Schenectady Museum, stretched almost five decades, starting with his visit to a hologram exhibit as a fifth grader at Zoller Elementary. After volunteering, Chris was quickly hired to assist with the museum’s archives and millions of photographs and documents.

Over his many years at miSci he oversaw the museum’s collections of millions of photos, documents, and objects that date well over one hundred years old. This included the museum’slibrary of archives, including the complete set of information that followed General Electric for the past 125 years. Chris had a knack for being able to recite information from the archives and was well respected by the local community due to his willingness to share this information whenever asked, without hesitation.

Chris was promoted in 2025 to the president of miSci where he is described as an indispensable resource who had a deep love of miSci and the history of Schenectady. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Collections and Exhibitions, for several years, always overseeing the site’s large collection of archives.

Chris was a dedicated historian and archivist, widely respected for his knowledge of electrical and technological history, as well as the history of Schenectady and General Electric. Chris was well known to the local community and to historians around the world. He served on many Boards over the years ranging from Vale Cemetery to Discover Schenectady. He had also recently joined the Rotary. Chris gave hundreds of tours over the years sharing his love for history of the region. It was well known by all that Chris had two loves. First, his wife Claudia and second, miSci and the history and science he so lovingly shared. Chris was dedicated to both and somehow found the time to travel with his wife while also attending the many meetings, interviews, tours, while still overseeing the archives at the museum. If you were to ask any family member or his second family at the museum, Chris would never complain and was always happy to help to further the museum’s mission to share their vast collection and exhibits with the community.

Chris wanted to help inspire future generations of children to explore science as a career. Due to his sudden illness, Chris never got to see the many people that visited his newest exhibit, which included art and other items from the museum’s archives. While Chris’ family recently visited the museum, they were able to see son’s, daughter’s, father’s, and mother’s, enjoying the old WRGB and GE artifacts in Chris’ newest exhibit. Chris would be proud of the chats children were having with their parents regarding the old WRGB studio camera. This is an attestation to the inspiration Chris’ dedication to the museum, history, and science will continue to have on the community after his tragic loss.

Chris was looking forward to steering the museum’s renovation project, for which the museum recently secured $10 million for renovations. Chris’ will be looking down and watching over his second family at the museum as they continue Chris’ passion to bring science and technology to the region in a newly renovated museum.

To celebrate Chris’ dedication to the museum and the community, the community is invited to a Celebration of Life to be held on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, at the Museum of Innovation and Science (miSci), Museum Drive, Schenectady. miSci will open their doors at 5:00 PM and remarks to celebrate Chris’ dedication will commence at 5:45 PM. The museum will be offering tours of the archives, where Chris’ dedicated decades of his career. Guests are invited to enjoythe many exhibits on display around the museum that Chris has helped with crafting over recent years.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made in Chris’ honor to the Museum of Innovation and Science (miSci), Museum Drive, Schenectady, New York, 12308.